Refashioners 2016 – Jeans to Bomber Jacket

Let me take you back to 7 years ago when I was just about to start my Sophomore Year of college. I was recently single (and lets be honest, heartbroken) and I was going back to school where I only knew a few people. Going through a small episode of depression, I decided that a little retail therapy was in order. So into Macy’s I went, not expecting much, when on the sale rack in the ‘Girls’ section was the most amazing faux brown leather bomber jacket. And to my surprise, they had one left in my size (girls 12-14). I snatched it before any 12 year old could come along and steal it away, tweens can be vicious you know!?

I put it on and immediately felt cool. That jacket was the most worn item in my wardrobe for the next couple years. I wore it on so many adventures and couldn’t imagine putting together an outfit without it. Recently, I went to put it on and noticed the fabric in the back started peeling away right under the collar so bad that I couldn’t fix it. And after ignoring the problem for another few wears, Drew made me get rid of it.

After this upset, I put “bomber jacket” on my sewing list with no immediate plans. I wanted to make a replacement but didn’t have the time and really wanted to take care with the project. Flash forward to the refashioners challenge and the thought of using this as a reason to make a bomber seemed perfect! It wouldn’t be made in a beautiful brown faux leather but I would take a denim version.

In my mind, I imagined a dark denim body with light denim sleeves. I was hoping to find  distressed denim for some cool detail and went into my local Salvation Army with a solid plan. All those thoughts went out the window when I saw the most amazing printed pants. Of course I gravitated to the prints, and my mind started racing all over again. I decided to go with the printed pairs and buy coordinating solids.

After some bomber jacket research, the Rigel Bomber had the best style I was looking for. It was also unlined, which made sewing this so much easier. The body was made from the rose floral pair and the sleeves were made from the awesome teal pair I found that almost perfectly matched. I also used the black pair to make the facing and the pockets. I had to buy the grey knit ribbing, which in reality I could have bought a t-shirt at Salvation Army, but didn’t want to use anything too outstretched.

This jacket was amazingly easy to sew, even with welt pockets. It took some time to plan out how to cut into the jeans and I couldn’t cut on the grain or anything but it all fit nicely and I didn’t even have that much left over! I also added elbow patches to give it an extra touch.

I absolutely love the result and wore it almost every day on vacation! I honestly didn’t think I would join in the refashioners challenge. I wanted to make something wearable and didn’t know what to do with jeans without making it look like a garment made from jeans. But I really couldn’t be happier with how this jacket looks. Also, if you have some time to read over the crazy amount of inspiration on Portia’s Blog for refashioning jeans, it’s worth it.

While it doesn’t replace my favorite jacket of all time, it is a happy addition to my wardrobe. And now that I have the pattern down, if I find the perfect faux brown leather, this would be a great make! And just for fun, here’s 19 year old me in my bomber during a field trip to Boston.